Scraper



Dec. 16, 1958 E. J. LE SAGE .SCRAPER Filed Dec. 18, 1956 IN VENTOREUGENE J. LeSAC-E ATTORNEY 2,854,104 Fatented Dec. 16, 1958 sennr'nnEugene .lf. lLe Sage, ilfankakee, 111., assignor to Armstrong lurktCompany, Lancaster, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania ApplicationDecember 18, 1956, Serial No. 629,051

3 Claims. (Cl. 15-93) This invention relates to an adjustable scrapermech anism for use on a mobile vehicle, such as a fork lift truck. Theinvention is concerned particularly with an adjustable scraper mechanismwhich will be serviceable for removing tough, heavy deposits onindustrial floors, such as in asphalt tile plants where deposits ofasphalt, limestone, asbestos, and resin are encountered which cannot beremoved readily by hand.

An object of the invention is to provide a scraper mechanism which maybe readily adjusted to bring the scraper blade into an efficientscraping position, depending upon the nature of the deposit to beremoved and the type of surface upon which it is deposited.

Another object of the invention is to provide a scraper mechanism whichmay be secured to a conventional fork lift truck in such manner as toutilize the tilting mast and lift mechanisms of the truck to provide thedesired adjustment of the position of the scraper blade and to utilizethe power of the vehicle for operation of the scraper.

Other objects of the invention will be clear from consideration of thefollowing description of an embodiment of the invention which has beenillustrated in the attached drawing, in which:

Figure l is a side elevation showing the scraper mechanism of thepresent invention mounted upon a conventional fork lift truck, the frontportion only of which is shown in the drawing; and

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the scraper mechanism ofFigure 1.

As shown in the drawing, the scraping mechanism is secured to aconventional fork lift truck from which the lifting forks have beenremoved. As mentioned above, the mast and lift mechanisms of the truckare used to provide the desired adjustment of the position of thescraper blade.

There is shown a mast structure made up of a pair of vertical channelmembers 2 and 3 connected at the top and bottom by cross frame members 4and 5. A central supporting column 6 is also provided. The maststructure is carried by a pair of brackets 7, one of which is shown inFigure l. T brackets '7 are pivoted to the frame 8 of the truck by apivot shaft 9. A hydraulic tilting unit 111 is connected to the maststructure and is effective for tilting the mast structure about ahorizontal axis defined by the pivot shaft 9. This portion of the unitis conventional in fork lift trucks and needs no further description.

Mounted on the lower end of the mast structure is a blade frame 11 whichmay be an angle iron member, as shown in Figure 2, which is bolted tothe mast members 2 and 3 by bolts 12 and 13. The blade frame includes apair of brackets 14 and 15 which may be welded to the member 11, asshown in Figure 2.

A blade support 16 is provided which is pivoted to the blade frame 11.Two pairs of mounting brackets 17 and 18 are welded to the blade support16 and are adapted to receive the blade frame brackets 14 and 15,respectively, therebetween. A pivot bar 19 passes horizontally throughopenings provided in the brackets 14, 15, 17, and 18.

A linkage arrangement is provided for pivoting the blade support. Itincludes a pair of brackets 20 welded to the blade frame 11 and a pairof links 21 which are pivoted to a bracket 22 welded to the bladesupport 16.

- The pivot may be in the form of a bolt 23 which passes throughopenings provided in the links 21 and bracket 22. A link 24 is disposedbetween the pairs of brackets 20 and links 21 and is pivoted by bolts 25and 26 which pass through openings provided in the various members.

Means for actuating the linkage to pivot the blade support 16 about thepivot 19 includes an elevator which, as shown in Figure 1, may be theconventional lift 27 of the fork lift truck which is slidable verticallyin ways provided by the vertical channel members 2 and 3. Preferably,the link 24 is connected to the lift 27 through a spring 28 toprovidefor yielding pivotal movement of the blade frame 16 to prevent damage tothe unit should an immovable object be encountered during scraping. Anarm 29 may be secured to the lift 27, and the crook of the spring 28 maybe received within an opening in the arm 29. The other end of the spring28 may be connected to the link 24 by a yoke 30 pivotally secured tolink 24. A crook on the spring 28 may be received through the yoke 30,as shown in Figure 2 p 7 Means are provided for moving the blade support16 to an inoperative position upon lowering of the lift 27. As shown inFigure 2, this mechanism includes an arm 31 welded to one of thebrackets 17 and an arm 32 welded to the blade frame 11. A spring 33 isconnected between the arms 31 and 32 and serves to pivot the bladesupport 16 about axis 19 upon lowering of lift 27.

A removable scraper blade 34 is secured to the blade support 16 by bolts35 and 36.

In operation of the device, the scraper blade 34 is brought intoscraping position by elevation of the lift 27 and tilting of the mastthrough the hydraulic tilting unit 141. The vehicle is then movedforward, and the scraper removes deposit 37 from the floor. The angleassumed by the blade 34 is adjusted by actuation of the lift 27 and bytilting unit 163 until the most effective scraping action is achieved,depending upon the nature of the accumulated deposit 37 being operatedupon and the type of surface upon which it is deposited, such asconcrete, steel plates, or other material. When scraping in one area hasbeen completed, the lift 27 may be lowered, and the spring 33 willautomatically pivot the blade 34 to an inoperative position, and thevehicle may be freely maneuvered to a new position for further scraping.Upon reactuation of the lift 27, the blade support will be pivoted tobring the blade into position, overcoming the action of the spring 34,and further scraping may be effected.

The unit is readily demountable from the fork lift truck by removal ofbolts 12 and 13 and detachment of springs 2-8 and 33. The lifting forksmay be remounted upon the mast and the truck will be again ready for itsusual service.

I claim:

1. An adjustable scraper mechanism for use on a mobile vehiclecomprising a mast, a blade frame secured to the lower end of said mastin a fixed position thereon, a pivotable blade support, pivot means forsaid blade support pivotally securing said blade support to said bladeframe for pivotal movement of said blade support about a substantiallyhorizontal axis, a scraper blade secured to said blade support, a firstpivot bracket secured to said blade frame, a second pivot bracketsecured to said blade support, a first link pivoted to said first pivotbracket, a second link pivotedto said second pivot bracket, pivot meansconnecting said first and second links, a lift carried by said mast andslidable in ways provided in said mast for movement in a substantiallyvertical direction, and means connecting said lift to said first linkpivotally securing said blade. support to said blade frame for pivotalmovement of said blade support about a substantially horizontal axis, ascraper blade secured to said blade support, a first pivot bracketsecured to saidblade frame, a second pivot bracket secured to said bladesupport, a first link pivoted to said first pivot bracket, a second linkpivoted to said second pivot bracket, pivot means connecting said firstand second links, a lift carried by saidmast and slidable in waysprovided in said mast for movement in a substantially verticaldirection, means connecting said lift to said first link for impartingpivotal movement to said blade support about said substantiallyhorizontal axis upon said substantially vertical movement of said liftin an upward direction to move said scraper blade toward the surface tobe scraped, and yielding means connected to said blade support and to arelatively fixed portion of said scraper automatically to move saidscraper blade away from said surface upon substantially verticalmovement of said lift in a downward direction.

3 An adjustable scraper mechanism for use on a mobile vehicle comprisinga mast, a blade frame secured to the lower end of said mast in a fixedposition thereon, a pivotable blade support, pivot means for said bladesupport pivotally securing said blade support to said blade frame forpivotal movement of said blade support about a substantially horizontalaxis, a scraper blade secured to said blade support, a first pivotbracket secured to said blade frame, a second pivot bracket secured tosaid blade support, a first link pivoted to said first pivot bracket, asecond link pivoted to said second pivot bracket, pivot means connectingsaid first and second links, a lift carried by said mast and slidable inways provided in said mast for movement in a substantially verticaldirection, and spring means connecting said lift to said first link forimparting pivotal movement to said blade support about saidsubstantially horizontal axis upon said substantially vertical movementof said lift in an upward direction to move said scraper blade towardthe surface to be scraped.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

